Massive sinkhole swallows beach camp in Australia

People forced to flee after area the size of a football field started moving under their feet.

A sinkhole the size of a football field swallowed part of an Australian beach camp Saturday evening.
(Photo: Channel 9 Australia/Screen Capture)

A tropical beach is likely the last place you'd expect a sinkhole to open up under your feet — unless you happen to visit Inskip Point in Australia. The peninsula, described as a "narrow, sandy finger of land built up by wind and waves," is a popular tourist and camping attraction. It's also occasionally beset by sinkholes that swallow up beaches and cause all sorts of chaos.

Case in point: Saturday evening at the MV Beagle Campground. Just to make things more terrifying, this particular sinkhole decided to strike at around 11 p.m. when everyone was just tucking in for the night.

"There was fishermen apparently nearby who said there was this noise and the next thing the sand just started moving out to sea," one camper told the Brisbane Times. "And suddenly there was this big sinkhole."

Despite an area the size of a football field slowly opening up around them, emergency responders were able to evacuate the 300 campers in the affected area. A car, caravan, camping trailer and various tents were not so lucky.

When dawn arrived, a new half moon shoreline could clearly be seen from aerial footage, with the extreme depth of the sinkhole reflected back in dark blue. According to park rangers, the sinkhole may eventually become even larger.

And just how are Aussies reacting to their newly formed shoreline? Naturally, by taking a dip to see how deep it is.

According to ABC Australia, engineers will use ground-penetrating radar to assess what is happening beneath the impacted area. Until the all-clear is given, campsites adjacent to the massive hole will remain closed.

"Our ultimate concern is about the safety of the visitors," Senior ranger Daniel Clifton told the site.
"Until we get more information we're not really sure about the stability of the site so we're just being a bit precautionary."